WELCOME to the new season!

The opening day encounter against Peter Reid’s Plymouth showcased exactly the warnings that have been emanating from these pages over the last few weeks.

It’s going to be every bit as tough and frustrating as we thought – but hopefully with a better end result for Saints than on day one of the 2010/11 League One campaign.

Plymouth did everything that was expected of them and most of the opponents that will pitch up at St Mary’s this season.

They worked really hard, got plenty of men behind the ball and defended deep and doggedly.

They were well drilled, well organised, physically strong and highly committed.

Rarely did they commit more than a few men forward.

Rarely did they look like being caught short at the back.

Rarely did they show any intent to use the width of the pitch.

But there they were, in front of their own goal prepared to run for every loose ball and throw their bodies in the way of every shot.

And they came away with three points.

Reid may well have looked at some of the matches involving Saints last season and deduced that his side were not going to be able to match attacking fire with attacking fire.

None of his strikers managed even double figures during last season’s nosedive out of the Championship.

And so he sent his team out to play to their strengths, to give themselves the best chance of winning.

He only has an obligation to get results for his side, not to entertain the St Mary’s faithful.

On this occasion his game plan worked.

The worrying thing for Saints is that they are going to face this on such a regular basis this season that they will have to find more effective ways of breaking teams down.

If they can get an early goal then it totally changes the reflection of the game.

But that is not always going to happen, and if a team catches you with a sucker punch of a goal of their own then you face a real uphill battle to try and break them down twice more for the full three points.

In fairness to Plymouth, there is little doubt that they will be one of the better sides at playing this method.

They knew what they were doing, they have players used to operating at Championship level, let alone the third division, and were good enough to execute it.

Many sides won’t be able to resist Saints for so long.

Of course, Saints did miss the injured Rickie Lambert while Adam Lallana made a difference when he came on in the 65th minute after no pre-season match action at all.

Again, though, you cannot be too reliant on any particular players.

It’s not that David Connolly and Lee Barnard can’t or won’t score goals.

We know they will.

But the whole team needs to supply them in a way that suits them as a pairing, which is very different to when Lambert is around.

Saints’ biggest first half threat actually came in the shape of Ryan Dickson, the left back making his full debut on the left of midfield in Lallana’s absence.

The one-time Plymouth man delivered a few terrific crosses, most notably twice picking out the head of Dean Hammond, whose two efforts were both off target when he might have worked Argyle’s Spurs loan keeper David Button.

Morgan Schneiderlin threatened with a fierce shot from 25 yards that flashed just wide, while Jose Fonte took a brief turn on the left wing to knock in a great cross which his fellow centre half Radhi Jaidi headed wide.

Saints were in total control for most of the first half, desperately trying to turn their dominance of action areas and possession into a goal that would draw Plymouth out.

But, for all their efforts they only managed one shot on target, and that wasn’t too hard for Button.

However, there was plenty of optimism for the second half, such had been Saints’ dominance.

But they were caught with a low blow when Plymouth, fired up after the break, took the lead less than a minute and a half after the restart.

Saints allowed time and space for a high diagonal ball to be knocked in from the right, Rory Fallon rose highest to head back across goal and a touch off Steve MacLean saw it break past Dan Harding.

Luke Summerfield – son of former Saints coach Kevin – was quick to react, slid in and rolled the ball past Kelvin Davis.

Suddenly Plymouth had three points to defend rather than one.

For much of the second half, however, Saints looked less likely to score than they had in the first 45 minutes.

Alan Pardew chucked on Lallana for Harding on 65 minutes and his presence did make a difference as both he and Jason Puncheon came alive.

Puncheon, another Saint desperate to impress against his one-time employers, twice came close and forced Button into a further save later on.

Lallana had Saints’ best effort of the match, a rasping drive from outside the area that the Plymouth keeper turned wide.

As things started to get a bit desperate, Jaidi had half a chance that he couldn’t quite deflect goalwards.

And, right at the death, Barnard looked like he might convert only to be denied by a brilliant challenge from Reda Johnson.

That was pretty much that.

These are the very earliest of days in the season and there is no need to worry or get too down about one defeat.

But for all those fans expecting regular four or five-goal St Mary’s wins on a high-scoring romp to the League One title, this was a reality check. It just won’t be that easy.